(Author’s note: All stats as of 08/07/17, he has had two walks while I wrote this…..so, yeah)
“…any other man stops and talk, but the walking man walks.” — James Taylor
What happens when a baseball player is one of the best in the league at a certain skill set, a career building skill set, and then suddenly he stops doing it? Perhaps the answer is that a baseball demi-god becomes mortal.
This trade season has been an active one for Mike Rizzo, who acquired a total of four players in an attempt to fix the much-maligned bullpen and add to the teams dubious position player depth. As the dust settled Monday afternoon, the Nationals were left with a transformed bullpen and a bolstered outfield with the additions of Sean Doolittle, Ryan Madson, Brandon Kintzler, and Howie Kendrick. Despite the flurry of additions, the Nationals still have a number of questions looming over them as the postseason slowly approaches. Stephen Strasburg’s elbow health is of the utmost importance, the bullpen still has a number of question marks, and the infield depth remains precariously thin. Luckily for the Nationals, trades are still possible until the end of the month so they can still add to the roster if they feel it necessary. Because players traded in August have to pass through revocable waivers, many of the seemingly available players all have performance or salary issues. Should they decide to take a risk, whether out of competitiveness or desperation, there are still valuable players that the Nationals could look to acquire this August. Let’s take a look at some of these players.
There are 53 games left in the regular season. Fifty-three games to get through until the games really matter. Fifty-three games for some guys to get healthy, some to get hurt, and others to either play their way on or off the playoff roster.
With about two more months to go until the regular season ends, and with the postseason picture becoming more clear, it’s become obvious that unless something changes drastically, the Nats are going to play the winner of the NL Central in the playoffs. And right now, it’s looking like that team is going to be the Cubs (unless the Brewers can fulfill my chaos-fueled wishes and unseat the Cubs).
The Washington Nationals do on-field stuff. But they also do off-field stuff. Here are those things.
Continue Reading Off-The-Field Recap: Reunions and Reintroductions
I’ve never liked the Cubs. While this weekend’s series is simultaneously a probable NLDS preview and relatively meaningless, I want the Nats to win the series mostly out of spite. I don’t like the Cubs.
I’d like to start by apologizing for writing this piece one week ago — I didn’t intend for Max and the Nationals to actually try to test how replaceable Scherzer actually is… I have not had good luck with these sorts of posts: On June 8th, I opined that the bullpen was no longer awful. Over the next six days, the pen gave up 18 earned runs. On April 27th, I wrote about how to organize Trea Turner and Adam Eaton at the top of the order. Three days later, Eaton collapsed at first base with a torn ACL. This, of course, doesn’t actually mean anything. Just in case, however, do not be surprised if you see me writing about the Cubs and Dodgers later in the year. I’m a team player, after all.
Continue Reading The Left Field Circus: Washington’s Interesting Depth Position
Mike Rizzo continued his overhaul of the Nationals’ bullpen by acquiring reliever Brandon Kintzler from the Twins, squeezing the deal in just before the trade deadline expired. With his current contract expiring at the end of the season, Kintzler is only a rental relief arm. But he is likely to get the ball in key moments late in games now and into the post season. So who exactly is the Nationals newest pitcher?
The July 31 trade deadline has passed, and the Washington Nationals have made their moves. Though the club did not complete a deal for a starting pitcher, it did one thing that was predictable — worked to improve its bullpen without trading one of its top prospects in the process. Sean Doolittle, Ryan Madson, and Brandon Kintzler are all Nationals, while the likes of Juan Soto, Victor Robles, and Erick Fedde remain in the organization.
In the process of completing their deadline deals, however, the Nationals did let go of a few notable prospects. To look over those players, here is a quick report on each, and what their departures mean for the organization.
Continue Reading Assessing the Prospects the Nats Traded Away
For the last few years, the Nationals have been known for their starting pitching. At the the beginning of the season, they looked to have one of the strongest rotations in the league. Max Scherzer had just won the Cy Young, Stephen Strasburg looked to finally be the full-year, dominant starter we’d expected him to be, Tanner Roark was coming off a career year, Gio Gonzalez got off to an incredibly hot start, and Joe Ross was looking to become a full-time rotation piece. Everything seemed to be falling into place.